The present invention relates generally to an image data masking apparatus which employs a television camera to pick up an object or the like, and is directed more particularly to an image data masking apparatus by which an electronic masking is applied to the image of an object that is picked up by the television camera when the object is picked up by the television camera.
During recent years, various image processing systems or defect inspection systems utilizing television cameras have been proposed and gradually put into practice. Further, not only television cameras using a pick-up tube but also television cameras using a solid state image sensor are used. Sometimes, with the use of such television cameras, some portions of its pick-up screen, such as a target screen, need not be image processed, or only the image information from its desired portion are to be processed and datarized. On such occasions, if a computer (CPU) is used as the processing system, it may be possible through the application of its software or the like, to utilize the data of only the necessary sections of the screen. However, in such case, when the shape of the section that is desired to be datarized and then utilized or not desired for processing frequently changes, the complication arises that requires changes in the software program adapting the CPU for each case.